Home games against West Virginia, Notre Dame, Connecticut and Marquette highlight the Pitt… Home games against West Virginia, Notre Dame, Connecticut and Marquette highlight the Pitt basketball team’s 2008-09 Big East schedule.

Although no dates have been announced up to this point, the Panthers learned last month which of their conference rivals will travel to the Petersen Events Center in the upcoming season.

Last year the Big East implemented a scheduling change that upped each team’s conference slate to 18 games. This allowed each team to play every school in the massive conference at least once and three teams twice.

West Virginia, Connecticut and DePaul will battle Pitt both on the road and at home.

Many factors are considered when determining repeat opponents within the conference. According to bigeast.org, geography, rivalries, television and national interest are among the most important.

Those four certainly came into account with the choice of West Virginia. The Mountaineers also squared off against the Panthers twice last season, with the teams splitting the contests. Last season, Pitt also faced Cincinnati and Villanova twice.

Most fans probably remember the thrilling 55-54 Pitt victory over West Virginia on Feb. 7, when Pitt guard Ronald Ramon nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to win the game.

The Panthers will face Connecticut twice in the regular season — something that hasn’t happened often in the past. Led by coach Jim Calhoun, the Connecticut Huskies have championship aspirations for next season and could be a top-10 program.

Pitt may be thankful that Notre Dame and Marquette are venturing to Pittsburgh. The Panthers lost by a combined 30 points to the duo away from home last year.

Cincinnati, St. John’s, South Florida and Syracuse round out Pitt’s home games.

The away schedule won’t do any favors for the Panthers, either. Big East powerhouses Georgetown, Louisville and Villanova headline Pitt’s road opponents.

Along with the three home-and-home series, Pitt will play Providence, Rutgers and Seton Hall away from the Petersen Events Center.

Still, Pitt enters 2008-09 with high expectations because of three returning starters: point guard Levance Fields, center DeJuan Blair and forward Sam Young.

That number could grow to four if Mike Cook is granted a sixth year of eligibility after missing almost all of last season with a knee injury suffered against Duke on Dec. 20.

The Panthers are ranked as a preseason top-10 pick on several Web sites, and there could be as many as eight Big East teams with a legitimate chance to make the field of 65 at the end of the season, many of which could crack the top-25.

If point guard A. J. Price returns from a severe injury he suffered in the Huskies’ final game of the year in the NCAA tournament, Connecticut could join the Panthers in the top 10.

Notre Dame is receiving early accolades as a possible top-10 program as well. With returning Big East Player of the Year Luke Harangody and sweet-shooting Kyle McAlarney, the Fighting Irish could have their best season in years.

Louisville, Marquette, Villanova and West Virginia are all favorites to enter the year in the national rankings, with Georgetown and Syracuse lurking not far behind.

In espn.com’s Andy Katz’s most recent preseason rankings, he slots the Panthers as the No. 2 team in the country. Katz gives similar praise to the other Big East schools. He rates Notre Dame at No. 4, Louisville at No. 5, Marquette at No. 14, Connecticut at No. 15, Villanova at No. 18 and West Virginia at No. 20.

Pitt’s nonconference schedule and dates should not be released until September, but some other programs have announced their opponents and have the Panthers on their slates.

Vermont visits the Pete Dec. 6 for the first time in three seasons. Pitt knocked off the Catamounts, 63-52, on Dec. 17, 2005.

The Oakland Zoo will also catch NCAA tournament darling Belmont in action. The Bruins, who almost recorded the biggest upset in tournament history losing to Duke by only one point, will face the Panthers on Nov. 25.

Another NCAA tournament mid-major, Siena, makes the trip to Pittsburgh in December. Siena beat Vanderbilt in the first round of the tournament but lost to Villanova in its next game.

Siena and Pitt will battle Dec. 18.

The only nonconference road game for Pitt that has been announced thus far is a contest against Florida State of the ACC. That game is scheduled for Dec. 21.

The Panthers are also playing two neutral-site games in Newark, N.J., for the Legends Classic. These games will take place Nov. 28-29. Their opponents have not been determined at this time.